


Harry Potter and the Chapter Fics - The Sorcerer's Stone

by Rizandace



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fic per chapter, Gen, Multi, oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-13 22:38:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16901151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizandace/pseuds/Rizandace
Summary: I've read all the Harry Potter books more times that I can count. Join me as I re-read again, and write a fic per chapter, expanding or adding moments, or spinning off on a particular character inspired by the chapter. Each chapter's summary will give a hint as to the characters/themes focused on in the chapter.





	1. The Boy Who Lived

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and suggestions for topics for future chapters are welcome!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character Focus: Remus Lupin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've read all seven Harry Potter books more times than I can count. Especially the earlier books. Each time I read them, I get something new out of them. This time around, I decided to do several new things in order to ground my re-reading with intentional thoughts and analysis. 1) I'll be listening to the audiobooks by Jim Dale. I've heard some of them before, but I've never gone through the whole series in audio form. 2) I'll be trying the podcast _Harry Potter and the Sacred Text_ , of which I've heard so many wonderful things. This will give me a good method of engaging with the text on a more intricate and specific level, and make me think about it in a new way. And 3) I'm going to try writing a one-shot for every chapter of the book.
> 
> I've set some rules for myself so that there's some structure to this, but no promises that the rules won't change as I go along. The main rule is that each fic be related in some way to the text of the specific chapter. It could be as concrete as a missing moment or a re-telling of a scene from a different character's perspective, or an immediate continuation. Or, it could be as vague as taking an off-hand comment about a character's backstory that appears in the chapter, and writing about that. If I actually stick this out and write my way through the entire series, you will inevitably find some biases in my writing. Any chapter that gives me an excuse to write about the Marauders, especially Lupin, or about Fred and George, or about Ron and Harry's bond... I'll be all over that. But I'm also hoping that in limiting my scope to the contents of each chapter, I'll be forced to think harder about characters who I have historically given less attention. Another rule is that I'm going to try not to buck anything in book-canon, by which I mean I'm not going to write anything that directly contradicts the text. However, I will not be paying a lick of attention to anything in the expanded universe, so I don't give a crap if I write something that contradicts the _Fantastic Beasts_ movies, or something Rowling has written about on Pottermore.
> 
> Okay! Let's stop procrastinating and get to the first chapter! I hope you enjoy, and I'd love to hear your feedback.

Remus Lupin was sitting alone in his shabby little flat when the news first reached him in the form of an agitated and exhausted looking owl on his windowsill. It was early in the morning, the sky outside still dark, and Remus was only half awake as he opened the window and accepted the small scroll that it held out on its leg. The note was from Dedalus Diggle, an excitable fellow that Remus knew from the Order. It took him only seconds to read it, and he felt his insides turn to ash as he did so.

_You-Know-Who defeated. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, if you haven't already heard, but the Potters were his final victims.  It seems their young son vanquished him somehow, and still lives. We're all meeting at the Leaky Cauldron for a pint this evening, you should join. Best,_   _Dedalus_

It was a bit difficult to decide what horrifying thought to grasp on to, but the thought of James and Lily  _dead_  was so horrible that his mind rejected it at first. He stumbled back to his chair, clutching the note in a bloodless hand, and thought blearily of Sirius. Did he already know? He'd be crushed. Remus had only seen him yesterday, and he'd been lamenting the fact that he'd barely even met his little godson -

Oh, God. Sirius.

Remus had always fancied himself a relatively clever fellow, so perhaps the thought should have occurred to him immediately, but it hadn't, because the thought of Sirius Black, his dear, precious friend, being... what? A traitor? A villain? A  _murderer_? Was almost more repulsive than the fact of the Potters' death. But what other explanation was there? He knew Sirius to be James' Secret Keeper. They had even argued about it, with Remus worrying that it put too much of a target on Sirius' back. He'd been so worried, so stressed not only for James and Lily and their little baby, but for Sirius too, and now...

James. He remembered the first time James had approached him, had revealed what he had learned, his animal form - a great gift to Remus in times of strife. Lily. Her bright, energetic smile, their enthusiastic conversations about the finer points of complex transfiguration theorems, the way she would thumb her nose at the other boys for their jokes whenever she and Remus got too worked up over a homework assignment. Harry. A boy he loved as much as he'd ever loved anyone, for all that he'd never so much as met him.

Remus realized he was crying, shaking, every inch of his skin icy cold. How could this have happened? It was taking a while to dawn on him that he'd lost everything. James was dead. Sirius was... Sirius was not what Remus had always believed him to be. Even the defeat of Voldemort couldn't assuage the leaden weight in Remus' stomach. At least the Order of the Phoenix had been a welcoming home for him - a community he could rightfully call his own. He supposed the Order would disband now that there was no more large magical threat facing the community. He'd have to reach out to his remaining friends - Peter would be in hysterics, Remus thought dully, unwilling or unable to note the irony as his own panic attack continued, the thoughts swirling through his head faster and faster. And Dumbledore, Remus should probably reach out to him too, maybe Remus could offer insights about Sirius. He might very well be the last person Sirius had spoken to before he'd gone to his master Voldemort and -

But no. It was ridiculous, all of it, simply impossible. Maybe Dedalus had it all wrong. Wasn't it just possible that the Potters were perfectly alright, that Sirius was safe at home right now? After all, Sirius Black loved James like a brother, loved Harry like a son. There was simply no way -

A second owl landed on Remus' windowsill, and a third followed so closely behind that it nearly unseated its fellow. Remus rushed forward, certain somehow that the letters would contradict Dedalus, would free him of this mental prison, would put the world right again.

The first was from Moody, a note saying that the Order's Headquarters should be considered compromised, given recent events. The second was a dispatch from the Ministry, announcing the long-awaited news that You-Know-Who had been defeated.

_Someone's been up all night at the Ministry working at this,_  Remus mused. His brain seemed to have switched to a different frequency, one where his best friend wasn't dead, and his other best friend wasn't a traitor, one where his life hadn't just changed so unutterably that he wasn't entirely sure who he was anymore.  _I suppose the Minster's approval ratings will go through the roof, although it's not as if he's had anything to do with it_.

The note from the Ministry didn't contain any mention of the Potters. Remus supposed they were waiting for more information so as not to spread any untruths. He glanced down at the first note, the one from Diggle, and picked up the crumpled paper almost mechanically, re-reading it slowly as if maybe the message would have changed in the last several minutes. "It seems their young son vanquished him somehow, and still lives."

Harry. Where was Harry now? Remus was sure Dumbledore would have made arrangements, but what were they? James' parents were dead, Lily's family were all muggles... Sirius was obviously out of the question, and Remus wasn't going to waste any more thought on him for now, lest he lose his mind entirely and start sobbing uncontrollably. But that left... well, that left  _him_ , didn't it? James had joked to Remus and Sirius when Lily had first announced her pregnancy that he'd flip a coin for godfather, and whichever one lost would get the next go-around. Lily had told him to take it one baby at a time. Remus could still remember the way they'd both been beaming, their young faces alight with the thrill of young love and impending parenthood.

Trembling, Remus took the Ministry dispatch and flipped it over, scrambling for a quill on the messy desktop in the corner of his flat. He scrawled a brief note and sent one of the owls to Dumbledore, claiming responsibility for Harry Potter's life. He hadn't any idea how to be a father, but it hardly mattered. This was James's son. This was Lily's son. He had a duty, and under the circumstances he knew it was what his friends would want.

Days later, as his note to Dumbledore remained unanswered and he finally learned the news that Harry had been left at an undisclosed location with protected muggle relatives, he admitted to himself, privately, that perhaps it was for the best. The thought of taking Harry in as his own had struck a match inside him, but not one of paternal love, exactly. It had been a match of manic desperation, for a distraction, anything to keep his mind away from the losses he had just suffered. His battered mind was already so inured to devastation that news of Peter's death and Sirius' capture hardly dented the armor he had built around his heart. He never visited his one-time friend in Azkaban. He was afraid of what he might do if he saw Sirius Black ever again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE NITPICK CORNER
> 
> I probably won't do this for every chapter, but since I'm playing super close attention to the text on this re-read, I might occasionally pop in to point out any plot holes or inconsistencies that I identify.
> 
> \- The text says that the story starts on a Tuesday, but we know that Voldemort killed Lily and James on October 31, 1981, when Harry was 1.5 years old. November 1, 1981 would have been a Sunday, not a Tuesday.
> 
> \- Also, if Voldemort attacked at night, and Hagrid brings Harry to the Dursleys the following night, was Harry just... lying in the rubble of the Potters' house all day? Or did it just take Hagrid all day to fly to Privet Drive from Godric's Hollow? I'm not good at geography.
> 
> \- Why isn't McGonagall at Hogwarts? Are there not students at the castle? This isn't really a plot hole, it just made me wonder what's going on at the school on this fateful day.
> 
> \- Hagrid mentions Sirius Black, saying he borrowed his bike and later that he's going to return it. We find out later in the series that Sirius is the Potters' Secret Keeper, and that Dumbledore knew this, so isn't it odd that he takes mention of Sirius in stride, if he believes that Sirius is a traitor?


	2. The Vanishing Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character Focus: Mrs. Figg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love your thoughts!

Mrs. Figg sighed, adjusting her position on the couch while trying not to jostle her injury more than was absolutely necessary. She cursed her infirmity, and the timing as well. This was her one time a year to spend an uninterrupted day with little Harry, and she had managed to bungled it all up. Oh, she hoped the dear boy would be alright without her. She knew Harry didn't like coming over to her house, but it must still be a nice break from those horrid muggles he lived with. There was very little Arabella could do in just one day a year to help Harry, especially knowing that the Dursleys would bar all access immediately if they suspected any real camaraderie between them. She tried to fatten him up as best she could on her one allotted day, and attempted to ask questions, broad and not too probing, about the treatment Harry received at the hands of his aunt and uncle, but although the boy was as sweet as sweet could be, he wasn't particularly forthcoming when it came to sharing his feelings.

In front of her Mrs. Figg held up the letter she had begun drafting to Albus Dumbledore. It was her monthly report on Harry's well-being. Arabella had been honored and slightly flustered to be given the task of staying near Harry when the opportunity had first arisen, and had accepted the sacred task with excitement. To have Dumbledore ask for such an important favor! To be in personal correspondence with a man such as that, and to have some measure of guardianship over the Boy Who Lived!

It had taken a couple of years for the shine to come completely off the apple. Nowadays, Arabella had to fight very hard to make her letters sound courteous and professional. A certain tone of impatience and resentment had started to creep in of late: "were I allowed to be honest with the boy, of course, it would foster a deeper relationship of trust between us..." Mrs. Figg crossed that line out, awkwardly holding the paper flat against one hand and using a pen to scratch through the sentence as the paper crumpled. She couldn't lean over to place it against the table, not now that she had finally found a comfortable sitting position that didn't put too much strain on her injured leg. She read further down in her draft: "It's difficult to be certain of Harry's well-being other than to say that the boy is clearly being neglected. Surely there are any number of wizarding families who could take him..." she crossed that out too. Dumbledore was well aware of his options, and didn't need her to remind him.

She knew there had been numerous generous souls offering to adopt the boy in the wake of You-Know-Who's disappearance. Virtually every surviving member of the Order had volunteered for the task. She could still remember the last time she'd seen the poor werewolf lad Remus Lupin, about a year after the Potters had been killed. He had been full of forlorn questions about Harry, and Mrs. Figg had embellished as best she could, trying to give the poor man some measure of comfort, something to hold on to of little Harry. But Dumbledore had forbidden Remus to take Harry, had forbidden everyone from so much as approaching him. Harry's identity was to remain a secret until his eleventh birthday. The word of Dumbledore passed for law around these parts, and Arabella supposed the fearsome old man was in a position to know best. Arabella hadn't been back to any of her old haunts in some time. It was safer, as Dumbledore had explained, if she became a part of the muggle world as best as she could.

Mrs. Figg groaned and shifted position slightly, squinting near-sighted at her letter, and then gave up and threw it down on the coffee table. She reached for her remote and flicked on the television, reveling in the perks of muggle living, even if some of the world's technology still felt foreign to her. She was tired, she was injured, and the painkillers that the muggle doctors had prescribed her were making her feel melancholy and mean-spirited in equal measure. Dumbledore would have to wait for his precious letter. Maybe it would force him to write to  _her_ for once, Arabella thought uncharitably. You would think, given his insistence on the monthly reports, that he might at least send a thank you once in a while.

She called to a few of her cats, and curled up with them as a daytime soap began on the screen. She let her mind drift to focus on the drama in front of her, sending one last thought for Harry's happiness. She would find a way to see the boy soon, she hoped. After all, he was about to join the world where he belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE NITPICK CORNER
> 
> Okay, the nitpick corner isn't just for plot holes or mistakes... it's also just for miscellaneous thoughts.
> 
> \- I always think it's odd that Harry is not described as having even one friend. That much total isolation is unrealistic. Did he never have a five-year-old friend to share his crayons with? Harry's early childhood his such a mystery to us! We never learn more about it than that Dudley and his friends bully him.
> 
> \- Does Piers hear Harry speaking parseltongue? Or just see him moving his mouth? You'd think he'd be freaked out by the hissing!


	3. The Letters from No One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationship Study: Dudley and Harry

"Have you seen my Smeltings stick?" Dudley asked, his pudgy face scrunched up in concentration. Aunt Petunia was up in her room getting ready for a night out, and Uncle Vernon was out picking up flowers for the hostess of the dinner party they were attending, so Harry looked up from the book he was reading, his eyes making a cursory glance around the room.

"It's by the fireplace," he said, nodding his head in that direction. Dudley sauntered over and picked it up.

"Thanks."

There was a pause, and Dudley seemed to realize he'd just had a civil exchange with Harry. To make up for it, he gave Harry a good poke with the stick on his way out of the room. Harry sighed, closing his book and leaning his head back against the couch. There was something very strange about co-habitating with your bully. He'd never felt like a part of the Dursley family, but it's almost impossible not to form some level of comfort and routine when you live with the same people your whole life.

And Harry could remember, when they were very small children, times when he and Dudley had just... existed in the same space together. They had never been friendly. Dudley had never been, and never would be, a brother to him. The very idea was ludicrous. But there had once been a three-year-old Dudley who didn't mind if Harry played with his blocks, a four-year-old Dudley who let Harry color in his coloring book. It was only as they got older, and Dudley absorbed his parents' obvious hatred for their nephew, that Dudley actively pushed Harry away.

Was he... nostalgic for Dudley? Harry shook his head, laughing at himself, and went back to his favorite past-time of late: daydreaming about school next year. He knew he'd never been a popular kid, but maybe he could find a quiet friend, another outsider like him who just wanted someone to talk to. Maybe he could stay with his new friend's family during the school breaks, maybe he could find ways to avoid the Dursleys' house for most of the year. Maybe he'd never have to see that smelting stick again.

"You'll have the kitchen scrubbed spotless before you go to bed," Aunt Petunia said without greeting, coming in to the room and smoothing down the front of her dress. "And sweep the floors, and finish up the laundry." She walked back out of the room before Harry could even respond with a token _"What chores does Dudley have to do?"_

Yeah. Living with your bully was weird. And Harry was counting down the days until he could put it behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE NITPICK CORNER
> 
> \- Like... Dumbledore's plan was initially for Harry to find out he was a wizard with a letter, with no additional context? You'd think Harry Potter would deserve a special visit from someone. If nothing else, the poor boy needs extra info about the fact that he's SUPER FAMOUS.


End file.
